To love is to be small to be a part of the other person

A wedding homily for Sir Vicente R. Santos III & Ms. Jillian Bianca Carpio
St. Michael the Archangel Parish, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, 12 July 2024
Tobit 8:4b-8 >><}}}}*> + <*{{{{><< John 15:9-12

*Photo by author in La Trinidad, Benguet, 12 July 2023.*

Congratulations, Sir Teng and Mam Jill on your wedding day. Your decision to get married in the Church is an expression of love itself because love is a decision, not just a feeling. Making a decision to get married is a choice to be small, to be broken into pieces to be united, to be one with the other person, your beloved.

Every time we make that decision to love, we renounce our very selves, our selfishness. The truest sign that we love is when we are able to love somebody more than our self; and to grow in love is to always choose the other person by a daily renunciation of one’s self which Ben&Ben sang so well, “Mahiwaga… pipiliin ka sa araw-araw…”

*Photo by author, Camp John Hay, 12 July 2023.*

This we saw in our first reading in the beautiful prayer by Tobiah with Sarah on their honeymoon when he mentioned God’s original plan in Genesis in creating woman as a suitable partner of man.

The root word of “partner” is part. A part is always small that makes up the whole. Every whole is made up of small parts.

A part-ner means you are both a part of each other and you both have to be small in order to be whole as married couple.

In that beautiful story of Tobiah and Sarah, we find them choosing to become small in order to become part of the bigger whole, of each other, and of God.

Tobiah is the son of Tobit who lived in exile in Nineveh, the capital of Assyria that had conquered Israel in the Old Testament. Tobit used to be wealthy but had a reversal of fortunes later in life made worse with his going blind. He sent his son Tobiah to Media to collect a debt from a fellow Jew with hopes he could also find there a bride for himself among their kindred.

God then sent Archangel Raphael who disguised as a traveler to Tobiah who was so kind to welcome him as companion. On their way to Media, Tobiah was attacked by a large, strange fish while taking a bath at the Tigris River. Tobiah was able to subdue the creature while Raphael instructed him to take out its heart, liver and gall due to its medicinal properties. Tobiah obeyed Raphael and they proceeded to Media to collect the debt owed to his father. There he met and fell for a Jewish woman named Sarah.

But, there was a major problem with Sarah: she had been widowed seven times because the devil Asmodeus would always come and kill her husband just before their honeymoon!

*Engraving of Raphael instructing Tobiah to gut the fish by Georg Pencz (1543) from en.wikipedia.org.*

Raphael pushed Tobiah to still marry Sarah, teaching how to drive away the devil Asmodeus on their honeymoon by burning the heart and liver of the strange fish he had killed. Tobiah followed Raphael’s instructions and Asmodeus was finally driven away that is why we have this scene of them praying in thanksgiving for their marriage. (This is the reason St. Raphael is portrayed with a fish and why arbularyos burn fish intestines to drive away evil spirits.)

Tobiah returned home to present his wife Sarah to his parents in Nineveh; Raphael again instructed Tobiah to apply the dried gall of the fish onto the eyes of his father Tobit to regain his sight. Amid their celebrations for Tobit’s healing and Tobiah’s marriage, Raphael revealed himself as God’s archangel sent to them to bring their healing which is the meaning of the name Raphael, “God has healed”.

See how Tobiah and Sarah, as well as Tobit even Archangel Raphael chose to be small and humble before God and everyone, to play mere parts in the grand plan of God in their lives. They were all willing to be humble and small.

*Photo by author, St. Michael Archangel Parish, BGC, Taguig City, 12 July 2024.*

Sir Teng and Mam Jill, you were sent for each other by God like St. Raphael to Tobiah and Sarah and Tobit. Handle your life with prayer. Always invite Jesus into your life as a married couple just like today you when you invited Him to bless your wedding. Do not forget to celebrate Mass every Sunday, to pray daily, as much as possible together as husband and wife.

True greatness is in becoming small like a little child as Jesus Christ repeatedly told His disciples. In this world where we compete on being the biggest and most powerful, God tells us the key to fulfillment is in being small, being humble, to become a part of the whole. The greatness of every person depends on the measure of his or her ability to share because it is only in participating in the whole does one becomes truly great.

Marriage is becoming small to become one. Husband and wife cannot be one unless they let go of themselves first. Marriage is not a competition of who has more love to give and share but simply of loving and loving, giving and giving.

When you reflected Sir Teng on what to do with your life and realized you will never be complete without Mam Jill, that is being small, that is truly loving because you are willing to let go of yourself to be a part of Jill.

Remember, there’s no perfect husband nor perfect wife but you can be the ideal husband, the ideal wife by forgetting yourself through daily conversion in Jesus Christ who gave His total self out of love for us. And you do not have to die on the cross literally, Sir Teng and Mam Jill.

Sir Teng, the ideal husband is someone who is deaf. Bingi. You know how women are. They talk a lot as they remember everything in detail even from long, long time ago. The moment Mam Jill starts talking, play deaf. So you don’t quarrel or debate.

Mam Jill, the idal wife is someone who is blind. Bulag. Problem with women is you see everything, kahit wala naman, may nakikita pa rin mga babae. When you see something with Sir Teng, play blind. Wala yun. Mabait siya talaga.

You two were brought together by your love for the French language. Every language is made up of small parts called letters used to form words put together in a sentence to express a thought or a feeling so we can communicate.

But, “communication is more than the expression of one’s thoughts and feelings; at its most profound level, it is the giving of self in love like Jesus Christ on the Cross” (Communio et Progressio #11)… just like every husband and wife too.

So, be small, Sir Teng and Mam Jill for you to remain in love, to grow in love, and be great in love. Amen.

Having love & having been loved

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday, Memorial of Sts. Martha, Mary & Lazarus, 29 July 2024
1 John 4:7-16 <*{{{{>< + ><}}}}*> John 11:19-27

*“The Raising of Lazarus”, 1311 painting by Duccio de Buoninsegna from commons.wikimedia.org*

If you have love in your heart, you have been blessed by God; if you have been loved, you have been touched by God (Anonymous author).

What a lovely Monday
You have given us today,
O God our Father
as we celebrate the Memorial 
of the friends of Jesus Christ,
the sisters St. Mary and St. Martha
with their brother St. Lazarus -
a beautiful 
and most powerful
reminder to us all 
that Jesus comes
first in our family
most especially 
among our siblings.

How sad, dear Father
are the growing number of couples
having only one child
or two the most 
with kids denied of this 
most wonderful experience
of kinship;
on the other hand,
there is the growing trend
of family disintegration
due to divorce and separation
of many couples
with children as main casualties;
likewise, of the growing trend
among young people to selfishly
pursue many things in life
in total disregard of others
beginning in their own family circle.

No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us (1 John 4:12).

Help us, dear Father,
to rekindle this love 
we first experienced 
in our homes, 
among our siblings
like Saints Mary,
Martha and Lazarus;
let us discover anew
the wonderful
and amazing gifts of
brothers and sisters
in the family
who remind us
of your blessing us
with so much love in our hearts;
let us feel and
experience again
your gift of love in our hearts
in the mere mention of
names of our own brother
and/or sister
who made us first experience
love next from our parents;
refresh our memories
of those times You touched us
with the selfless love,
the unconditional love
freely shared with us
by our brother
and/or sister.

We pray,
most merciful Father,
for all brothers
and sisters separated
from each other
due to misunderstandings,
jealousy,
betrayals and mistrust;
like St. Martha,
let us never lose faith
and hope for estranged
brothers and sisters
to rise anew from their
deaths into sin,
to find again that love
You have given them in their hearts
and most of all,
touch them
so they may remember
and miss anew
those experiences
of being loved by their
siblings in their childhood
to rebuild their ties again
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

*An icon of Jesus visiting his friends, the siblings Sts. Lazarus, Mary and Martha. Photo from crossroadsinitiative.com*.

We are Mary Magdalene

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday, Feast of St. Mary Magdalene, 22 July 2024
Song of Songs 3:1-4 <*{{{{>< + ><}}}}*> John 20:1-2, 11-18

*“The Appearance of Christ to Mary Magdalene” painting by Alexander Ivanov (1834-1836) at the Russian Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia from commons.wikimedia.org.*

We rejoice today, Lord Jesus,
for this most wondrous Feast of
your friend St. Mary Magdalene:
in her we find hope and joy
that like her, we who are sinners
are assured of a grace-filled future,
of a trustworthy friend in You,
and abounding love and mercy
also in You.

We are, dear Jesus,
the modern Mary Magdalene:
sinful and worldly,
perhaps so vain with our
outside appearance and bearing
in public, sometimes on the brink
of giving up in life because nobody seem
to care at all for us;
many times like Mary Magdalene,
we walk alone in darkness 
searching for You, Lord Jesus;
many times we wonder too
how we could move the huge 
and heavy stone of past sins,
weaknesses and failures, 
addictions and vices 
that cover us and prevent us
from moving forward, finding You;
many times, O Lord,
we mistake You for somebody else
like Mary Magdalene when she mistook
You to be the gardener at the tomb
because we are so preoccupied
of many things in life. 

But, You assure us today
on this Feast of St. Mary Magdalene
our fears and assumptions are not 
true at all; help us to stop clinging 
to our many past for You are not there,
Jesus; You are always in the here and now,
in the present moment, personally calling us
in our name like Mary!

The Bride says: On my bed at night I sought him whom my heart loves – I sought him but I did not find him. I will rise then and go about the city; in the streets and crossings I will seek him whom my heart loves. I sought him but I did not find him. The watchmen came upon me as they made their rounds of the city. Have you seen him whom my heart loves? I have hardly left them when I found him whom my heart loves (Song of Songs 3:1-4).

Like that lover,
the Bride in the first reading,
we are Mary Magdalene
in search of love and meaning
in this world;
in search of You, Jesus,
our Lord and Savior;
so often, we seek You
in this world, in its loud noise
of too much self bragging
as well as in the midst of the
world's riches and powers;
the more we seek You,
the more elusive You have become
until You came when like Mary Magdalene
we have believed in You,
we have listened to You.
we have become silent
and attentive
to You, Lord Jesus;
thank You for coming,
thank You for finding me,
thank You for calling me
like Mary
to proclaim You are risen
to others who believe in You,
searching You,
waiting for You.
Amen.

“The Closer I Get to You” by Roberta Flack (1977)

The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Music by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 21 July 2024

*Photo by Dra. Mylene A. Santos, MD, Infanta, Quezon, 2020.*

We’re back on this lazy but blessed Sunday when our gospel is about rest, “Jesus said to his apostles, ‘Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while'” (Mk. 6:31).

Rest is first of all going back to God in Jesus Christ who sends us to work, on a mission; rest is being filled with God or “breathed on” by God as we say in Filipino mag-pa-hinga (https://lordmychef.com/2024/07/20/rest-is-to-be-close-with-jesus-close-with-others/).

And we thank God for the gift of music that is the easiest, most affordable and most rewarding manner of rest for us next to prayer and the Mass. Most of all, see that every song, every musical piece is always about love who is God Himself!

For this Sunday, we go back to 1977 with Roberta Flack’s romantic ballad The Closer I Get to You that is more than a song of love but a story of love in itself.

According to Ms. Flack, it was her manager David Franklin’s idea that she record a duet of that song with her college friend Donny Hathaway who was then suffering with clinical depression. Both have worked together earlier in several duets. As a way of helping her friend get over his depression, the song was re-written while Ms. Flack had to make a lot of sacrifices in recording and shuttling between New York City and Chicago where Hathaway was confined to a hospital and had refused to travel.

Hathaway never recovered from his depression and eventually died a few years after the release of their duet in 1978 that became an instant hit, earning praises and had them nominated for Grammy the following year.

Ms. Flack said in an interview that their duet would always be her dedication to Hathaway as she donated all the money earned from that song to Hathaway’s widow and two children.

As we have mentioned in our homily today, rest is getting closer with God and the closer we get to Him, the closer we get with others. That is why Jesus was moved with pity to the vast crowds who have followed them to a deserted place to rest: His oneness with the Father moved Him closer to people especially the poor and the suffering. And that is why we find The Closer I Get to You perfect with our gospel this Sunday: the more we get closer with Jesus, the more we get closer with our family and friends and those in need.

The closer I get to you
The more you make me see
By giving me all you've got
Your love has captured me

I love that first stanza of The Closer I Get to You; it says the very essence of the song which is a gospel in itself. It reminds us of St. John’s first letter when he wrote, “No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us” (1Jn.4:12).

The more we get closer with anyone, the more we love, because the more our eyes are opened to see others to love. And God becomes more present among us!

It’s a Sunday, go celebrate the Mass and enjoy some beautiful music to remind us of God’s presence among us. Here now is The Close I Get To You…

From YouTube.com

Put life in order

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday in the Fifteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 19 July 2024
Isaiah 38:1-6, 21-22, 7-8 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Matthew 12:1-8

*Photo by author, somewhere in Bgy. Kaysuyo, Alfonso, Cavite, 27 April 2024.*

When Hezekiah was mortally ill, the prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz, came and said to him: “Thus says the Lord: Put your house in order, for you are about to die; you shall not recover. Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord… Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: “Go, tell Hezekiah: Thus says the Lord, the God of your father David: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will heal you: in three days you shall go up to the Lord’s temple; I will add fifteen years to your life” (Isaiah 38:1-2, 4-5).

God our Father,
help us
 to put our house in order;
give us the courage and
strength to put our lives
in order
by sincerely admitting our sins
with a firm resolve to turn away
from them and live the gospel
of Jesus your Son.

Let me put order
to my spiritual life by cultivating
the discipline to pray daily
keeping that relationship with You;
let me put order in my life
by seeking ways to be more
loving with others than
finding their faults;
let me put order in my life
by being less judgmental of others
to be more charitable and understanding.

Like Hezekiah
let me accept my fate,
let me accept death:
"In the noontime of life I must depart!
To the gates of the nether world
I shall be consigned
for the rest of my years" (Isaiah 38:10);
how wonderful that without praying
for his healing but for the grace
to accept your will,
You healed Hezekiah
and prolonged his life
to serve You more than ever.
Amen.

“Bring me”…

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday, Memorial of St. Bonaventure, Doctor of the Church, 15 July 2024
Isaiah 1:10-17 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Matthew 10:34-11:1

*Photo from The Valenzuela Times, 02 July 2024.*

On this blessed Monday,
your word "bring" invites me
to examine what I bring:

“Trample my courts no more! Bring no more worthless offerings; your incense is loathsome to me” (Isaiah 1:13).

Jesus said to his Apostles: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword” (Matthew 10:34).

Teach me, O Lord,
to bring your peace and justice,
to bring your truth and light
so that I may bring that
much-needed balance
we are searching in life.

Like St. Bonaventure,
help me to bring myself before
You, dear God in prayers,
to immerse myself in your words
in the scriptures
so that I may bring together
the ideal and practical,
the spiritual and material.

Many times, O Lord,
we bring our very selves,
it is our ego and pride
we love to bring everywhere
for everyone to see,
forgetting that
we must first bring
You back into our hearts,
bring You back into our minds,
bring You back into our lives
so that we can finally
bring out the best
worship of You.
Amen.

Words, words, words…

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday in the Fourteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 12 July 2024
Hosea 14:2-10 <*[[[[><< + >><]]]]*> Matthew 10:16-23

Thus says the Lord: Return, O Israel, to the Lord, your God; you have collapsed through your guilt. Take with you words, and return to then Lord; Say to him, “Forgive all iniquity, and receive what is good, that we may render as offerings the bullocks from our stalls” (Hosea 24:2-3).

Loving Father,
let us "take words" with us
this Friday,
words of contrition for our sins,
words of true repentance,
words begging your mercy,
words that are sincere
not empty words;
many times in this world
of social media,
we multiply words,
we shout words,
we alter words
to give new meanings
that suit us;
many times our words
are mere words,
never bearing fruit,
could not even stand
because they are not true;
like Jesus your Son,
teach us to "enflesh"
our words,
let our words to You be
translated into realities of
conversion and loving service 
for one another.

When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you” (Matthew 10:20).

Let us heed your words,
Lord Jesus Christ,
for us to be "shrewd as serpents
and simple as doves"
by learning to be silent
to let the Holy Spirit speak
through us;
in this noisy world
with so many competing 
words and sounds,
it has become indeed 
a persecution to be silent;
it is more difficult to be silent
to await your words, Lord;
it is always easier to speak
and add to the cacophony of
deafening and hurtful words
against each other
than to just listen to
our hearts,
to listen to your words
of love and mercy;
like the psalmist,
let my mouth
declare your praise
by awaiting your words
first, not mine.
Amen.

Exaggerating truth, exaggerating self

Homily, Baccalaureate Mass, Senior High School
Our Lady of Fatima University, Valenzuela City, 05 July 2024

*Photo by olia danilevich on Pexels.com*

Congratulations, our dear graduates this academic year 2023-2024! As you mark the completion of your studies, may I ask you again why did you go to school? Why study at all?

As usual, we get those varied answers of going to school like to have a bright future by securing a better paying job or, as others would readily admit it, in order to get rich and a host of other reasons that are far from the truth because one does not need to earn a diploma to get a job or even get rich. Look around you.

Remember, my dear graduates, we go to school in order to become a better person, a better man, a better woman. That is what we mean with that slogan “Rise to the top!” here at Our Lady of Fatima University; that we may become “man as man”, truly human guided by our mottos, Veritas et Misericordia.

Problem in this age of too much social media is how people have become more lost than ever in themselves. So many have become so alienated with their true selves as they get confused with reality and with virtual reality. Puro tayo palabas, wala nang paloob as everything has become a show including our lives.

Look inside your hearts and find Jesus Christ for only in Him can we find fulfillment in life like Matthew in our gospel today:

As Jesus passed by, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him (Matthew 9:9).

After this Mass, check Google. Search Caravaggio’s painting, the call of St. Matthew. Caravaggio was the same artist who painted “The Incredulity of Thomas” when the Apostle met the Risen Lord Jesus Christ eight days after Easter.

One thing you will notice in Caravaggio’s paintings are the interplay of light and darkness that seem to converse with the onlookers. In the call of St. Matthew, Caravaggio painted the scene so typical of his own time with Matthew and other men inside his office wearing clothes of the Middle Ages while Jesus passing by at the other end of the painting dressed in exactly the way during His time. Jesus was portrayed in a side view, calling Matthew who was seated and surprised, asking Jesus if he was the one being called. You could read the face of Matthew asking Jesus, “who, me?” while Jesus was gently looking at him with firmness, saying, “yes, you Matthew. Follow me”.

First thing we learn from this painting is how Jesus continues to come to our own time and situation, right where we are seated like with Matthew. As Jesus pointed His finger to Matthew while calling him, Matthew pointed too his finger into his heart to ask Jesus if he was the one He was referring to. It is a lovely scene telling us how Jesus invites us daily to welcome Him in our hearts, telling us to take a look inside our heart to find Him. Tumingin tayo palagi paloob sa ating sarili, hindi palabas o sa labas gaya ng social media na dinaraan lahat sa likes at kung anu anong mga emoticons. Paramihan ng followers basta trending at viral maski pangit. Pagkatapos, wala na. Hungkag pa rin tayo. Walang laman. Empty.

Now, look at this photo uploaded last night by The Valenzuela Times after that flash flood yesterday afternoon in front of our medical center along McArthur Highway. You must have seen it too.

How did you react? Did you laugh at the man carrying on his back his girlfriend while crossing the flooded street?

How sad that many netizens laughed at it with many having pressed the LOL emoticons with some calling the “gurl” as OA, saying “naglakad na lang sana sila magka-holding hands, hindi pinahirapan yung guy”. At least, some were honest to admit their envy, saying, “sanaol”!

Why those negative reactions? Bakit pinagtawanan? (https://lordmychef.com/2024/07/03/crossings-the-cross/)

That is the sad reality in our time when people laugh at others doing something good like sacrificing or simply being honest. Have we forgotten all about God and others just like the message of the Prophet Amos 3000 year ago of how people turned into sin and evil, trampling on others especially the poor which continues to happen today?

Hear this, you who trample upon the needy and destroy the poor of the land! “When will the new moon be over,” you ask, “that we may sell our grain, and the sabbath, that we may display the wheat? We will diminish the containers for measuring, add to the weights, and fix our scales for cheating! We will buy the lowly man for silver, and the poor man for a pair of sandals; even the refuse of the wheat we will sell!” (Amos 8:4-6).

*From cbcpnews.net, 13 May 2022, at the Parish of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, Valenzuela City.*

My dear Fatimanians, as you get closer to achieving your dreams, as you move on to the next phase of your studies and formation here in our University, remember always the lessons and life of our Patroness, the Blessed Virgin Mary as well as the three children to whom she appeared in Fatima, Portugal more than 100 years ago.

Mary remained faithful to her Son Jesus Christ, accompanying Him up to the Cross. The three visionaries of Fatima did the same, praying and sacrificing a lot to get the Blessed Mother’s message of conversion across. In their young age, they did not mind what others said about them from May 13 to October 13, 1917, remaining faithful to Jesus with Mary by being good and obedient children.

It is always easy to look good and kind in social media. It is always so easy to speak of so many lofty plans and ideals, of how we want to change the world but we forget to look inside our hearts, into our true selves. Like the Pharisees in the gospel today, they saw themselves as the best and the holiest whom Jesus should keep company with, not the sinners like the tax collectors that included Matthew.

Many times in this age of so many platforms of communications, we tend to exaggerate the truths, of clamoring for so many things like inclusiveness everywhere when in the process, they have actually become so exclusive! Many times, people exaggerate the truth presenting themselves as disadvantaged and victimized when in fact it is far from reality. Many people are advancing so many things these days when in fact they are actually promoting themselves. Many are exaggerating the truths when they are actually exaggerating themselves.

Heed the words of Jesus to the Pharisees, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, I desire mercy, not sacrifice” (Mt. 9:13).

It is not enough to know and get what we want but what does God desire for me? You will never go wrong in life when you follow God than men or women who could just be exaggerating themselves. Handle your life with prayer, my dear Fatimanians. As I have told you since I came here in OLFU, always remember to “study hard, work harder, and pray hardest.” God bless you all!

Married life is being surprised always in order to believe and to keep loving

Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 08 July 2024

Love is more than a feeling; it is a decision we make and renew daily especially when expressed in marriage. It is indeed very difficult but the most wonderful thing about being human. That is the reason why the first miracle of Jesus happened at a wedding in Cana and not in any festivity in the temple or a synagogue.

When couples love and keep that love alive, they level up in their existence, becoming holy like God because love, after all, is a gift from God. To be holy in a state of life is not being sinless but simply being filled with God, being open to God, to His surprises in order for us to believe in Him more and continue to love more.

Do not let divorce thwart this beautiful gift and plan of God to many men and women He calls to share in His love in marriage. Divorce will never solve the problems of married couples as it does not consider the spiritual and deeper human aspects of married life. Divorce is just intent on ending marriage that eventually result to more problems especially to the children.

Here is our sixth wedding homily exactly a year ago when my nephew Immi exchanged “I do” with Pat at the Manila Cathedral. We hope this may lead others to a deeper appreciation of marriage being a gift from God we have to care and protect.

All praise and thanksgiving to God our loving Father for this day, Immi and Pat! This is the day God had set to be your wedding day. Not last year, not next month nor any other day except this seventh day of July 2023.

Jesus Christ said in our gospel today, “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you” (John 15:16).

Surprised? Yes, Immi and Pat, you have both felt God surprising you many times since you met each other, mysteriously weaving your lives seamlessly together that today you are before Him at this altar to pledge your love for each other.

That is what I wish to share with you this afternoon: keep that element of surprise in your lives together, Immi and Pat. Never lose that sense of wonder because it is when we are surprised that we start to believe; when we believe, we get closer and then we love. The more we love, the more we are surprised and the more we believe until that love matures into more than feelings but a decision and commitment to love until death.

Hindi ba, Immi and Pat, that is why you are here today because you have finally decided to grow together in this love because you believe in each other and most of all in God?

There were many occasions you were both surprised at the twists and turns in your lives as individuals, beginning at how you got to know each other in the office.

Hindi naman love at first sight iyon. Hindi nga kayo magka-type pareho kaya nag-aasaran kayo palagi.

*Photo by Ms. Jo Villafuerte, Atok, Benguet, 01 September 2019.*

You were opposites but the more you were surprised in discovering new things about each other, the more you gravitated to each other, the more you believed in each other, surprisingly realizing that actually, you are not opposites but shared a lot in common.

That’s when you became good friends caring for each other, conversing more often with topics getting deeper like plans and views in life until one day, Pat had so much of these surprises as she juggled many things in her life and asked to speak with you, Immi, to avoid confusion and complicate things further in your friendship.

Wala pa siyang sinasabi maliban sa “mag-usap tayo” and you just told her, “Let’s go out on a date”. Iyon na yun! Kayo na! Dehins na hangout, date na. Wow, tamis!

The problem in our time is that everything, everyone is exposed. Even overexposed!

With social media all around us, everything is shown and displayed for all to see, leaving no room at all for surprises.

Many people these days want everything to be certain. Lahat segurista na ngayon.

No more surprises, no more faith because many of us have stopped believing. Remember, “Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1). That is why, when we are surprised, we believe; as we believe more and get surprised more, we love.

Immi and Pat, always have faith, believe and be surprised with each other and with God.

The world tells us, “to see is to believe” but our faith teaches us, “believe so that you would see.” Remember when Jesus told Thomas a week after Easter, “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed “(John 21:29b)?

Keep that childlike attitude in you of being surprised always, of having that sense of awe and wonder. That is why kids believe and trust always.

Being surprised is being open with the simple realities of life, of the joys of being alive and sharing this life with a special someone in love. Being surprised is being open to getting hurt because we believe there is that special someone who would always take care of us, with whom we can be our true selves no matter what. Being surprised is being open to the realities and ecstasy of loving and of being loved in return. Being surprised is believing in God who is a God of surprises because he loves us so much.

In the Book of Genesis, we find Jacob falling asleep at Bethel with a stone as his pillow, dreaming of a stairway to heaven. It was so good because he saw God and his angels ascending and descending the stairway to heaven that upon waking up, Jacob had that sense of wonder and awe, “Truly the Lord is in this spot, although I did not know it!” (Gen.28:16). Jacob was surprised. Then he believed. And loved and served God. In 1971, we heard Jimmy Page and Robert Plant singing, “makes me wonder” over and over in their hit Stairway to Heaven.

But, Edith Piaf said it best in 1946, of how she was surprised in finding love with her classic song La vie en rose. No, I will not sing it but will just read it to remind you God’s many surprises for you, Immi and Pat.

I thought that love was just a word
They sang about in songs I heard
It took your kisses to reveal
That I was wrong, and love is real

Hold me close and hold me fast
The magic spell you cast
This is la vie en rose

When you kiss me heaven sighs
And though I close my eyes
I see la vie en rose

When you press me to your heart
I’m in a world apart
A world where roses bloom
And when you speak, angels sing from above
Everyday words seem to turn into love songs

Give your heart and soul to me
And life will always be
La vie en rose.

Immi and Pat, God has a lot of surprises for you. Remain faithful with each other, remain faithful to Jesus Christ who has called and chosen you. Have Christ always between you in your relationship. Pray, believe and have trust in Him so you both would see more surprises, more life, more love in your married life. God bless you, Immi and Pat! Amen.

For those wishing to listen and perhaps use this classic piece, here is its English version.

From YouTube.com

Blessedness of desert

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday in the Fourteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 08 July 2024
Hosea 2:16,17-18, 21-22 <*((((><< + >><))))*> Matthew 9:18-26

Thus says the Lord: I will allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak to her heart… I will espouse you to me forever: I will espouse you in right and in justice, in love and in mercy; I will espouse you in fidelity, and you shall know the Lord (Hosea 2:16, 21-22).

Praise and glory to You,
God our loving Father!
Lead us back to You,
lead us back to the desert -
to that state of dryness,
of emptiness,
of nothingness
for us to find and 
experience You again;
lead us to the desert,
Father, for us to feel 
our heart again
that You are our first love
after all!

Forgive us, Father,
when life is in abundance
we are filled of our selves
we forget You and others;
when life is affluent,
we disregard what is right
and just, we become so greedy
with nothing enough;
when life is going on smoothly
without problems, we disregard
love and mercy as we see more
of things than persons as we veer
away from You,
sinking into infidelity,
not knowing You.

I do not ask for too much
pain and suffering;
just something enough to
knock our heads
like that father in the gospel
and woman suffering hemorrhages
for 12 years who both felt so 
isolated from the rest
like in a desert
to realize there is only You
in Jesus Christ to restore us
back to life,
back to community,
back to our real selves
and back to You.
Amen.